The Hindu Business Line : What the Budget holds for the young manager

The Union Budget was presented last week. So, why is the Budget such a big deal for you? Why should you, the young manager, even care about this budget hoo-hah? And is there any material benefit in keeping track of the tiny, myriad minutiae that is part of every Union Budget?

It is all about impression and PR. There is no greater indicator of managerial acumen than being able to speak about the Budget with authority and apparent wisdom. As regular readers will know this column believes that half of managerial advancement is about appearance and perceived ability. Real ability and hard work, both fairly commendable, are the refuge of those who will work hard for years and then retire only to be given a party in the local Udupi dosa joint followed by a big gift-wrapped going-away present. (Usually a commemorative plaque that looks suspiciously like a fruit tray from the canteen. Or a pressure cooker. Same canteen.)

You, I hope, aspire for much much more.

So I cannot possibly stress how important it is that you quickly apprise yourself of the intricacies of the Budget. You must learn what the Budget is all about. What implications it has on the macro and micro-economic realities of the nation. How to glean both the institutional, individual and sectoral implications of the various budgetary changes and policy directions. This would mean hours of reading, research and analysis.

Alternately, and this does dampen the scholarly nature of the above exercise, you can bluff through your teeth. Simply use verbal sleight of tongue (coined a phrase!) to seamlessly cover up your utter ignorance of the Budget and all things economic. This column can help you with that. Oral subterfuge is, in fact, our forte.

Now I know that a lot of you have actually been to business school and several of you have MBAs and equivalent degrees and diplomas. Which means many of you spent two years or so poring over heavy books on a number of topics including economic theory and public finance and internalising many sound concepts. For you this budget business probably makes good sense and this makes up somewhat for the fact that you have no friends and you secretly call up credit card or airline helplines to hear a warm female voice.

But then the vast majority of us did not do that at business school and, instead, poured out cocktails with a number of base beverages including tequila and something in a jar which sat in my shelf for six months and might have been battery fluid but tasted great with grapefruit juice. We were not into economics and many among us still think that Fiscal Deficit is an issue that can be easily healed with some Horlicks and bed rest.

For this vast majority it is important that you can camouflage this inherent ignorance with adequate oral chicanery. For instance, you walk into office the day after the Budget and your CEO accosts you in the lift. He kicks up a conversation:

CEO: G'morning Sidin! So not a bad budget at all eh? I really think that monetary policy will now help towards a less inflationary environment. Though if you ask me I don't see how we can achieve all this reform without capital account convertibility at some level. You think things are getting a little too Keynesian nowadays?

At this point you can literally smell the washing soap off your commemorative platter. Little does the CEO know that the most difficult problem you have handled of late is getting your printer to print on both sides of the same sheet of paper. (This can be done). So how do you handle this? Like so:

Sidin: Insightful question sir. But isn't inflation a much more basic problem? Shouldn't one solve citizen-level issues first before looking at broader liquidity conundrums? But then that is just my thought. So how did your holiday in Bali go? The kids enjoyed it? And what a fabulous new suit is that?!

This way, merely by using the right words at the right time, you have not only evaded the question, but also deflected the topic onto a much less taxing one. Thus covering up the fact that you are the type who is bewildered at why the RBI gets all worked up about a "Repo" who is merely a shrill, nasal Goan singer after all.

You can even use the Budget and associated terms during meetings to highlight your grasp of the, (with a straight face now), Big Picture.

Sidin: ... and let's not forget about inflation or disinvestment when we make our plans.

Meeting convener: (Impressed)... Great! And that from Sidin wraps up this month's meeting of the Fire Escape Coordination Team.

So don't be scared of the Budget. It is not some large animal you need to be wary of exposing your weaknesses like, say, an annual sales target or a pre-employment background check. Use it to your advantage and make sure that even this little annual government thing gives that extra fillip to your career.

(The writer, an alumnus of IIM-A, was a management consultant before he quit for a full-time writing career)